Loose leaf binder



Oqt. 19, 1937. w THOMSON 2,096,701

LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Dec. 20, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invznr R TIJRMEYSOct. 19, 1937. w. E. THOMSON LOOSE LEAF BINDER 2 SheetsSheet 2 FiledDec. 20, 1954 IHVEfiTDR WW ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNiTEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE LOOSE LEAF BINDER Application December 20, 1934,Serial N0. 758,369

'11 Claims.

' This invention relates to loose leaf binders and more particularly toautomatic loose leaf binders in which the binder covering isautomatically secured to the posts during the reassembly of the binderas disclosed, for example, in Harold C. Lenhart application Serial'No.613,905, filed May 27, 1932, and Arthur W. McClure application 88- rialNo. 672,844, filed May 25, 1933.

In the Lenhart type of automatic loose leaf lobinder, a housing, rigidlycarried by the back member of the binder covering, has mounted therein apintle carrying slide, the pintles of which are adapted to beautomatically projected through openings in the leaf impaling posts whenthe slide is tripped during the closing of the cover. In the Lenhartconstruction, when the binder covering is free from one end of the postsso that the back and the covers are lying on the table in substantiallythe same plane, because the secured ends of the posts are free to rotateabout the pintles, it is very difficult to retain the posts in alinementduring the process of inserting or removing sheets of paper from thebinder. It will, therefore, be apparent that it is necessary 5in theLenhart binder to provide some means for bringing the posts back intoalinement before the pintle slide is tripped, otherwise the pintles willnot enter the openings in the posts if the posts should be out ofalinement. In the 'Lenhart construction, a post-alining device,-such asthat shown in the Unger Patent No. 1,909,320, is used.

This method of alining the posts is, however, -not entirely satisfactorybecause when the posts are badly out of alinement, it is necessary forthe operator to push on the front edges of the stack of paper to bringthe posts into approximate alinement before the alining edge, which ismounted on the cover, is capable of striking the 40 posts to bring theposts into accurate alinement.

Because of the necessity of bringing the posts accurately into alinementbefore releasing'the slide, a careless operation is very likely to causethe ,-pintles to become bent and some difiiculty has been encountered inthe commercial structure of the Lenhart applications due to bentpintles.

In automatic loose leaf binders of the type disclosed in the McClureapplication above referred -'to, the same difficulty of retaining theposts-in alinement is encountered. In the McClure construction, however,the housings which carry the post latches are hinged to the back of thebinder and during reassembly of the binder the openings -,.;in thehousings are swung over the topsof the posts. Upon closing the cover theweight thereof is exerted on the top of the housing which cams the postsinto the openings in the housing to enable the latches to engage theends of the posts. However, because the posts must be approximately inalinement before they will enter 5 the openings in the housing, it isusually necessary for the operator to manually push the posts intoappropriate alinement by pressing on the front edges of the stack ofpaper.

An object of the present invention is to elim inate the difficultiesencountered in the abovementioned automatic loose leaf binders andprovide a'binder of the automatic loose leaf type in which means areprovided for retaining the posts vertical and in alinement with eachother when the binder covering is free from one end of the posts for thepurpose of inserting or removing sheets of paper.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an automaticloose leaf binder in which the impaling posts are rigidly maintained inasubstantially vertical position and substantially in-aliriement witheach other when the binder is in condition to enable the insertion orremoval of sheets of paper.

A further object of the present invention is toprovide a loose leafbinder of the automatic type in which the binder covering may bereleased from either endof the posts to enable the insertion or removalof sheets of paper and'the provision of means adapted to grasp the postsin a manner such that they are prevented from turning and getting out ofalinement with each other whereby the posts are always maintainedsubstantially in alinement so that the cover, during reassembly of thebinder, may be thrown to a closed position and the binder coveringautomatically secured tofree ends of the posts.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an automatic looseleafv binder in which the housing carrying the post latching means isprovided with enlarged. openings so that the posts will readily enterthe openings in the housing; the provision of post latching means withinthe housing capable of bringing the cover and back into the properrelationship with the posts upon the posts entering the openings in thehousings;

and the provision of means for locking the binder p r covering in suchposition.

Further objects and advantages pertaining to the details of my inventionwillbe apparent from the following description taken 7 in connectionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of 55 my'automatic looseleaf binder with the binder covering free from one end of the posts;

Figure 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a view taken on line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a View taken on line 4--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a view taken substantially on the line 6-6, Figure 1, withthe binder in assembled condition;

Figure 7 is an enlarged view of an impaling post.

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the structure shown inFigure 13;

Figure 15 is a view taken on the line |5l5 of Figure 14; and

Figure 16 is a View showing the means for releasing the slide of thestructure shown in Figures 13, 14 and 15.

As illustrated in the drawings, the structure of my invention comprisesa binder covering generally indicated by the numeral I I consisting of aback member l2 and a pair of covers l3 and 14 which are hinged to theback member l2 through metallic plates 15 by means of hinge pintles l3and I1. The metallic plates are substantially flush with the tops of thecovers and the difference in thickness between the metallic plates andthe covers forms a pair of recesses for receiving the mechanisms forsecuring the binder covering to the opposite ends" of a plurality ofimpaling posts indicated by the numeral l 8.

The impaling posts l8, of which there may be any number dependent uponthe type and intended use of the book, are adapted to retain a quantityof paper IS in position by placing the post-receiving openings in thesheets of paper over the posts and locking the ends of the posts to thebinder covering. If desired, although not entirely necessary inconnection with my invention, a plate 25 may be secured to the backmember and held in abutting relationship against the rear edge of thestack of paper by rivets 25". The plate may be provided with sideportions 25' adapted to aid in keeping the paper in the proper position.

Preferably at the same hinge points to which the covers are hinged tothe back member, a pair of housings 2i and 22 are hinged to eachlongitudinal edge of the back member 12. The housings 2| and 22 are thuscapable of movement relative to the cover about the hinge pintles I6 andI! but when either of the covers are open and the corresponding housingis released from the posts, the housing associated with the open coveris retained against its associated metallic plate, in the recess formedin the cover, by a spring 20. When the binder covering is secured toboth ends of the posts, the covers may be opened about the hinge posts16 and I! independently of the housings 2| and 22. The construction thusfar described is essentially the same as that described in theco-pending McClure application above referred to. Since the housings 2iand 22 and the mechanism contained in each are the same, a descriptionof one of the housings and its associated parts will sufiice.

The housing 2-! is provided with a plurality of openings 23 which areadapted, when the cover is moved from the position shown in Figure 1toward a closed position, to move over the tops of the posts to enablemeans inside the housing to engage the free ends of the posts whereby tosecure the binder covering to the ends ofthe posts. While the width ofthe housing is limited by' practical considerations it is desirable inmy invention ior reasons later set forth, that the openings 23 be aswide as possible and extend substantially the entire Width of thehousing 2|.

Mounted in the housing 2| is a slide 26 provided with openings 21therein adapted, when the binder covering has been released from one endof the posts, to overlie the openings in the housings as shown inFigures 1 and 2. The slide 26 is provided with a finger piece 28 whichis secured to a portion 29 of the slide which extends through an openinginthe housing. Each of the openings 21 in the slide 26 is of peculiarshape and is provided with inclined cam surfaces 3! which terminate instraight-sided looking portions 36. Each of the posts has at each endthereof a notch 34 which is formed around the complete periphery of thepost but which may, if desired, consist of two notches formed only onthe opposite longitudinal sides of the posts. The locking portions 36 ofthe slide are adapted when the binder covering is closed to engage thenotches 34 in the ends of the posts to lock the binder covering to theends of the posts. The post notches are slightly wider than thethickness of the metal of the slide so that the locking portions 33 ofthe slide will freely enter the post notches. The edges of the postnotches may, if desired, be beveled as shown so that the lockingportions 36 will move readily into the notches.

The slide 26 is normally pressed by means of a'spring towards a positionsuch that the locking portions 36 of the slide 26 will engage thenotches 34 on the posts, or, if desired, for this purpose two springs 38may be used. The springs are retained in position by retaining plates 39which are s-ecured in any suitable manner to the housing 2|. One endof'each of the springs abuts against a pin 40 secured to the housingwhile the other end of the spring abuts against a portion of the slide,the slide beingcut out as at 42 to accommodate the springs.

Means are provided for retaining the slide in the unlatched position,such means including a pin 44 secured to the slide and provided with alatch head 45. When the slide is moved toward a position to release thebinder covering from the ends of the posts, the latch head engages theend of a slot 46 formed in a spring latch member 41. The spring latchmember 47 extends substantially the entire width of the housing and isse cured to the top of the housing 2| by means of rivets 48. Anextension 5! of the spring latch member 4'! projects over one of theopenings in the housing and over one of the openings in the slide whenthe slide is in the retracted position. In this position, the extensionis adapted to be engaged by the end of a post as the post enters theopenings in the housing and slide to unlock the latch member 41 andenable the slide to move toward locking position under the action of thesprings.

In operation, after the binder has been opened to enable the insertionor removal of sheets of paper and is lying on a table or other stand sothat the covers and back extend substantially in a plane, duringreassembly of the binder, the operator grasps the cover and shifts it sothat the back member l2 moves about the hinge pintle l1 and the cover 13moves about the hinge pintle I6 until the openings 23 in the housings 2!are approximately over the tops of the posts. At this point the covermay be released and permitted to swing of itself, or, if desired, whenthe cover and back reach about the position shown in Figure 1 the covermay be given a slight flip to carry the openings or housings over theposts. Upon release of the cover the posts will enter the openings inthe housings and since the slide is retained by the latch members45, 4!in a position such'that the openings in the slide are in alinement withthe openings in the housing, the posts will freely enter both openings.As the posts enter the housing the particular post associated with thespring latch 41 will engage the extension 5| thereof. Further movementof the cover toward closed position will cause the spring latch to beraised and upon being tensioned sufficiently, it will spring away fromthe latch head 45 and release the slide. Upon disengagement of the latchmembers, the springs will automatically project the slide in a directionsuch that the notches 34 in the posts will be engaged by the lockingportions 36 of the openings in the slide.

One of the important advantages of my invention resides in that when thebinder covering is free from one end of the posts, during the process ofinserting or removing sheets of paper, the posts cannot get out ofalinement because the other ends of the posts are substantially rigidlyheld by the locking portions 36 of the associated slide. Because theposts are held at one end on both longitudinal sides thereof, theycannot turn transversely of the binder covering, as in the pintle type,except to the very limited degree necessitated by the allowance ofclearance between the slide and the notches in the posts. If the postsshould become slightly out of alinement due to the necessary allowanceof clearance between the slide and notches in the post, upon release ofthe slide as the cover is being closed, the cam surfaces 3| willstraighten up the posts and bring them back into accurate alinement witheach other.

A further advantage of the loose leaf binder of my invention is thatbecause of the construction of the slide, the openings in the housingmay extend substantially the entire width of the housing. The large sizeof the openings in the housing theslide with relationship to the postsso that the locking portions 35 of the slide will engage the notches inthe posts.

In Figures 8 to 12 inclusive I have shown a modified form of thestructure shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive. In the loose leaf bindershown in these figures, the housing 52 itself constitutes the slide'andhas openings 53 therein adapted to register with the posts l8 when thebinder cover-,

ing is free from the ends of the post and the housing retracted. Theopenings 53 are provided with cam surfaces 3| and with straight-sidedlocking portions 36. The housing 52 is hinged to the hinge pintle l6through hinge eyelets 54 and 56 which are slidable on'the hinge pintle16. A spring 51 is interposed between the hinge eyelet 54 and a hingeeyelet 58, secured to the cover, while a second spring 59 is interposedbetween the hinge eyelet 56 and a collar 6| rigid with the hingepintleI6.

The housing 52 may be pulled toward the left,-

from the position as viewed in Figure 8, against the tension of thesprings 5'! and 59 by a knurled finger piece 63 secured to the housing.Provision may be made to enable the housing to, be pushed from theopposite end of the binder, such means comprising a finger piece (54secured to the housing 52 and projecting through a slot 68 formed in thecover l3. When the housing is pulled or pushed to the extreme left sothat the posts are in the enlarged portions of the openings in thehousing, the cover may be raised-and the latch spring 67 will snap intoposition behind-a stop 68 so as to retain the housing in the disengagedposition. The stop 68 is pivoted through hinge eyelet 69 to the hingepintle l6 and is held against movement along the hinge pintle by thecollar 6| and a hinge eyelet 1! of the cover so that the housing isslidable longitudinally of the binder with respect to'the stop. It will,therefore, be apparent that the stop 68 which is adapted to fit withinthe casing remains stationary except that it is movable with the casingabout the hinge pintle as a center. 7

Following the insertion or removal of sheets of paper during reassemblyof the binder, the cover a back plate 14 extends between the hingepintles l6 and I1 and the housings 16 are retained in perpendicularrelationship to the back plate 14 by means of springs H. In thisconstruction the forward side of the housing 16 is cut away at 18 asWell as the bottom portion of the housing.

A pintle slide 19, mounted in substantially the 7 same manner as thatillustrated in Figures 1 to 7' inclusive, has itsforward edge cut awayas at 8| so that the housings may be moved sidewardly into operativeposition with relation to, the posts instead of over the tops of theposts as in they structure of Figures 1 to 6. V r p In thisconstruction, a slightly different slide stop mechanism is employedwhich comprises-a. spring stop member 82 having a latch portion 83'which engages the slide. The slide release mechanism comprises a pin 84slidable in a bearing 88 which has one end fixed to the stop member 82as at 81 and the other end projecting through an opening in the housingas at 88. provided with a stop 89 which limits the outward movement ofthe pin. When the binder is- .7 V

being reassembled, the back is swung about-the The pin 84 is g lowerhinge pintle l7 and the top cover is swung about the hinge pintle l6toward closed position. As the housing 16 is held perpendicular to theback plate 14 by the spring 11, the posts enter the side openings in thehousing and upon the cover 13 being dropped to closed position the pin88 is pressed inwardly by the rear edge 9| of the cover until the stopportion 33 of the stop member 82 is pushed past the end of the slide 19.The slide 79 has a recessed portion 92 adapted to accommodate the stopportion 83 of the stop member. The stop member is thus retained againstthe side wall of the housing by the slide. Upon release of the slide thesprings 38 urge the slide so that the locking portions 3%? of the slideengage the notches in the posts and secure the binder covering to theends of the posts.

Although I have shown and described specific structures illustrating myinvention, it will be understood that the same is for the purpose ofillustration, and that many changes and modifications may be made in theautomatic binder structure illustrated without departing from the spiritor scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back memberand a pair of covers hinged along the longitudinal edges of the backmember, a plurality of impaling posts for retaining a quantity of paper,said impaling posts each having a pair of grooves at each end along thesides of the posts and extending in a direction longitudinally of thebinder covering, means carried by the binder covering at bothlongitudinal edges of the back and extending into the grooves in theposts for retaining the binder covering to the posts at both endsthereof, means for releasing the binder covering from the posts ateither end thereof, and means for automatically securing the bindercovering to the free ends of the posts when one cover is closed duringreassembly of the binder.

2. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back memberand a pair of covers hinged with relation to the back member, aplurality of impaling posts for retaining a quantity of paper, means forsecuring one set of ends of the posts to the binder covering, a housingcarried by the binder covering having openings there- 1 in for thereception of the other ends of the posts,

a slide movable in said housing, said slide having means in connectiontherewith for securing the housing to the said ends of the posts, meansfor moving said slide to a position such that the housing is free fromsaid ends of the posts to enable the insertion or removal of. sheets ofpaper, and means for automatically securing the housing to said ends ofthe posts during the reassembly of the binder, said slide having meansin connection therewith for straightening up the posts during theclosing of one cover. 7

3. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back memberand a pair of covers hinged with relation to the back member, a plu-.-rality of impaling posts for retaining a quantity of paper normallysecured at the same ends thereof to the binder covering, a housinghaving openings therein secured to the binder covering, means inconnection with the housing for securing the 70 housing to the otherends of the posts, said housing being manually movable to release thehousing from the ends of the posts to enable the infor automaticallysecuring the housing to the "lends of the posts during reassembly of thebinder.

4. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back memberand a pair of covers hinged with relation to the back member, aplurality of impaling posts for retaining a quantity of paper, means forsecuring the binder cover ing to one end of the posts, a housingoperatively associated with the other ends of the posts and hinged tothe binder covering, said housing having side and bottom openingstherein for the reception of the posts, means in said housing forsecuring the binder covering to said ends of the posts, means forreleasing the binder covering from said ends of the posts to enable theinsertion or removal of sheets of paper, spring means :for retaining thehousing in a position such that when one cover and the back are movedtoward a closed position the housing is moved sidewardly toward theposts so that the side openings in the housing are moved into registrywith the posts, and means for automatically locking the binder coveringto said ends of the posts when one cover is completely closed.

5. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member,hinges secured along the longitudinal edges of the back member and apair of covers secured to said hinges, a plurality of impaling posts forretaining a quantity of paper, means carried by the binder covering forsecuring the binder covering to the same ends of the posts, and meanswhen the binder covering is free from the other ends of the posts forautomatically securing the binder covering, to said other ends of theposts when the associated cover is thrown toward a closed position,released and dropped to a closed position, said last-mentioned meanshaving means associated therewith for drawing the back and said coverover into proper relation with the other cover when said cover is throwntoward closed position inaccurately.

6. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member,hinges secured to the longitudinal edges of the back member and coverssecured to said hinges, a plurality of impaling posts for retaining aquantity of paper, means for releasably securingthe binder covering tothe ends of the posts whereby the binder covering may be released fromeither end of the posts to enable the insertion or removal of paper,said releasable securing means during reassembly of the binder when thefree cover is closed being automatically secured to the free ends of theposts without further manual operations, and said releasable securingmeans having portions thereof formed so as to draw the cover and backover into proper relationship with the posts during such operation.

7. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member,hinges secured to the longitudinal edges of the back member and coverssecured to said hinges, a plurality of impaling posts for retaining aquantity of paper, means for releasably securing the binder covering tothe ends of the posts whereby the binder covering may be released fromeither end of the posts to enable paper to be inserted or removed fromthe binder, said releasable securing means at the secured ends of theposts being formed so as to retain the posts rigidly vertical and inalignment when the binder covering is free from the other ends of theposts, and said securing means for said other ends of the posts beingautomatically engagable Withthe corresponding ends of the posts when thecorresponding cover is closed, and said securing means having meansassociated therewith for drawing the said cover and the back over intoproper relationship with the posts during the closing operation.

8. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member,hinges secured to the longitudinal edges of the back member and coverssecured to said hinges, a plurality of impaling posts for retaining aquantity of paper, a pair of housings secured to the binder covering,each of said housings having openings therein for the receptionrespectively of the opposite ends of the posts, releasable means in saidhousings for securing each housing to its corresponding post ends,either of said securing means being manually releasable to enable thebinder covering to be opened for the insertion or removal of sheets ofpaper, and means during the binder reassembly operation forautomatically engaging said securing means with the free ends of theposts when the cover is thrown toward a closed position, is released andpermitted to drop to a closed position, said openings extendingsubstantially the width of the housing and being considerably wider thanthe posts to enable the posts to readily enter the openings during saidbinder reassembly operation, and means in connection with said securingmeans for drawing the cover and back over into the proper position withrespect to the posts when the free cover is inaccurately thrown and theends of the posts enter the openings improperly.

9. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member,hinges secured to the longitudinal edges of the back member and coverssecured to said hinges, a plurality of impaling posts for retaining aquantity of paper, a pair of housings secured to the binder covering,each having openings therein extending substantially the width of thehousing and being considerably wider than the posts whereby the postsmay readily enter the openings in the housings during assembly of thebinder, releasable means in connection with each housing for securingeach housing respectively to its corresponding post ends, either of saidsecuring means being manually releasable to enable the binder to beopened for the purpose of inserting or removing sheets of paper, saidreleasable securing means and said post ends being so shaped that thepost ends are held rigidly vertical and in alignment at the secured endsof the posts, and means for automatically engaging said releasablesecuring means to the free ends of the posts when the correspondingcover is thrown to a closed position, said securing means having meansin connection therewith for drawing the cover and back over into properrelationship with the posts if the cover is thrown inaccurately and theends of the posts enter the openings improperly.

10. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member,hinges secured to the longitudinal edges of the back member and a pairof covers secured to said hinges, a plurality of impaling posts forretaining a quantity of paper, said posts having notches in the sidesthereof extending longitudinally of the binder, a pair of releasablemeans carried by the binder covering for securing the binder covering toboth ends of the posts, each of said releasable securing means includinga slide so constructed and arranged that when it is in engagement withthe posts, portions of the slide lie in said notches so as to intimatelygrasp the posts on opposite sides to retain the posts rigidly verticaland in alignment with each other when the binder covering is free fromthe other ends of the posts, and means for automatically securing thebinder covering to the free ends of the posts when the free cover ismoved toward a closed position, released part Way in its movement andpermitted to drop to a closed position.

11. In a'loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member,hinges secured to the longitudinal edges of said back member and a pairof covers secured to said hinges, a plurality of impaling posts forretaining a quantity of paper, said posts having notches in the sidesthereof extending longitudinally of the binder, a pair of releasablemeans carried by the binder covering for securing the binder covering toboth ends of the posts, each of said releasable securing means includinga slide having openings therein substantially larger than the ends ofthe posts and having cam portions formed at the margins of portions ofsaid openings, portions of said slide lying in said notches so as tointimately grasp the posts on opposite sides to retain the posts rigidlyvertical and in alignment when the binder covering is free from theother ends of the posts, and means for automatically securing the bindercovering to the free ends of the posts when the free cover is movedtoward a closed position, released part way in its movement andpermitted to drop to a closed position, said cam portions of the slideserving to pull the back and free cover over into proper relationshipwith the posts during said closing operation.

WINSLOW E. THOMSON.

